Remedy
by Ilmare-Ilse
Summary: After Grace's dance, Danny is restless and anxious. Steve just happens to be in the neighborhood. Set after the end of episode 7x09.


A/N: Many thanks to my lovely and awesome beta Narkito, who cheered me on and really helped with this one!

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 _When the pain cuts you deep_  
 _When the night keeps you from sleeping_  
 _Just look and you will see_  
 _That I will be your remedy_

 _Remedy - Adele_

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Lou had dropped Danny and Grace home about 2 hours before. Grace had gone to sleep right away, the exhaustion from their eventful evening finally catching up with her.

Danny on the other hand, couldn't seem to sit still. He tried to eat the sandwich Lou had saved for him, but his stomach was still in knots, so he gave up after just a couple of bites. He paced his living room for a while, but every 10 minutes he felt the need to check on Grace. Sadly, even the sight of his little girl sleeping peacefully in her room did nothing to make him any less anxious.

He tried watching a game, sitting in his lanai, reading a book and even doing some breathing exercises a shrink had given him a few years back, but nothing made the images that kept running through his head stop.

He had resigned himself to spend the night pacing his living room like a caged tiger having an existential crisis, when the sound of his front door opening made him jump, reaching for a gun that wasn't there.

The sight of Steve poking his head inside made Danny sigh in relief. "Good, you're still awake," Steve said with a goofy grin, moving into the living room as if he was right at home.

Danny glared at his partner, reaching for a nearby chair for a little support. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you ever heard of knocking?" He griped in annoyance.

Steve lifted his hand, revealing a bottle of scotch. "Well, Lou left this one behind, and since I know for a fact that _someone_ threw away all your booze before you left the hospital, I thought you could use some of this tonight," he said, moving to place the bottle over the coffee table. He turned back to Danny, his expression turning into one of concern. "Hey buddy, you ok?" He asked in a gentler tone.

Danny blinked in surprise at the question and started to nod, opening his mouth to answer in the affirmative, only no words would come out. He couldn't seem to find an adequate answer, so he finally settled for shrugging.

Steve's frown deepened and he moved to grab Danny's arm, pulling him towards the couch. "Alright, come here." He muttered as he pushed Danny to sit on the couch, pulling his head forward so he could lower it between his knees. "Damnit Danny, should've brought you some Valium instead." He muttered under his breath, shaking his head at the tremors he could feel from his friend's body.

Danny's arms flailed a bit at the sudden movement. "No… 'm 'k. I don't- I don't need a V'lium, " he mumbled as he found himself looking at his own feet. He was surprised at how his body was suddenly betraying him and that made his anxiety worse.

Steve kept his hands on his partner's back, not liking how fast Danny was breathing. "Sure, you're perfectly fine," he said, not at all convinced. "Alright buddy, you gotta slow it down, ok? Talk to me, where's your head at, huh?" He asked gently while he kept rubbing his friend's back in comfort.

Danny closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on calming down. He knew he was home, they were safe, and yet everything about this day and about Grace being in danger kept playing in his head like a never-ending horror movie. "I- I'm not sure. Grace? He was going to shoot her and Rick… Rick wasn't there, but it feels like he was? I don't know. He wanted to hurt her…" He trailed off, lifting his hands to place them at the back of his head, pulling at his hair in a nervous gesture.

Steve frowned in concern, realizing where Danny's thoughts were heading. "Hey… Buddy, Grace is just fine. She's sleeping in her room." He said gently. "Those guys, we got them, and Rick?" He kept talking, trying to comfort his friend. He hated that Danny still worried about that son of a bitch but at least he could provide some comfort in that regard. "Forget about him, ok? Peterson is in Jail. He'll never get another chance to get to Grace again," he said more forcefully.

Danny just shook his head, lifting his face to look at his partner. "You can't know that."

Steve nodded in turn. "Yes I do. I have eyes on him. He's not moving from that dark hole he's locked in without me knowing about it. He's no threat to you or Gracie anymore, buddy," he said in a gentle tone.

Danny just sat there looking at his friend's face for a minute, finally regaining his composure. "You're a scary son of a bitch." He muttered finally with the hint of a smile on his face. "I just don't get why this keeps happening," he continued, passing a tired hand down his face.

Steve just grinned at his friend, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder in comfort. "Maybe I'm not the trouble magnet after all. Maybe it was you all along, Danno," he said while he stood up and moved to the kitchen, conveniently placing himself out of range of any retaliation from his partner. He returned with two glasses with ice, pouring some scotch for them both and sitting on the couch at Danny's side. "Seriously, it was just bad luck, man. And it was really good luck that you were in there instead of Rachel," he said seriously.

Danny shook his head, reaching for the glass and taking a long drink. "Shit, please stop talking, I don't need any more terrifying thoughts running through my head," he moaned, not entirely joking.

Steve leaned back on the couch, reaching for the remote. "Okay, no more talking. We could watch a movie, maybe we can find one of those Lethal Weapon ones, or even better, Die Hard," he said, glancing at Danny with an evil grin.

Danny didn't look at all amused. He grabbed the remote from Steve's hand and changed the channel to the sports stations. "Hahaha, you're terribly funny. Now make go yourself useful and find me some snacks."

Steve did as Danny asked and they sat quietly for some time, watching a rerun of a football game. Danny had refilled his glass once and was slumped on the couch, blinking tiredly at the TV and grumbling halfheartedly about the game from time to time.

Steve was surprised that Danny still had energy. He had hoped that the scotch would help his partner to get some sleep, but by the looks of it, Danny didn't feel like calling it a night yet. In fact he wasn't quite done thinking either.

"You know, back at the dance, I said what I said, and I need you to know that I meant it," Danny said, taking a small sip from the glass in his hand and turning his head to look at his partner.

Steve turned to look straight at his partner as well. "I know buddy." He said with a small smile.

"The thing is," Danny continued as if Steve hadn't spoken, "you're my best friend. By now you're closer to a brother, and I know we keep saying it as if it was nothing, but I really love you, babe."

Steve's smile widened. "I know buddy. I love you too."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. As I was saying, while I know that we both love each other, and that the idea of exploring a number of bases with you is not entirely unpleasant, I haven't been in a single relationship where things haven't ended in a horrible, terrible way. And I seriously wouldn't want that to happen with us." Danny finished with a small sigh.

Steve looked at his friend for a minute. "Danno, are you breaking up with me?" He asked, grin still firmly in place.

Danny huffed in annoyance, elbowing his infuriating partner on the side. "I should've known you'd be an asshole about this," he grumbled.

Steve chuckled, moving his hand on top of Danny's thigh, squeezing to get his attention. "No, seriously man, we're both assholes most of the time, and worst of all, we're assholes to each other. We know each other too well, and it's too easy to go for the jugular when tempers get out of control. And I'm not saying it's not as bad when we are just friends, but I really wouldn't want to risk losing you as a friend because we fucked up trying to make a relationship work.

"So yes, I hear what you're saying, where you're coming from, and while I feel the same way about you. I think you're right. The last thing I want to do is lose you as a friend, so I can live without having you as something else," Steve finished, waiting to see Danny's reaction.

Danny was looking at him in surprise. "That was way less awkward than I expected," he said, lifting his glass in a toast.

Steve chuckled, lifting his own glass to knock it against Danny's. "That it was, buddy."

Ten minutes later, Danny was sound asleep, drooling on Steve's shoulder. Half an hour later, Steve was out too. About an hour after that, Grace came out of her room after being woken from a nightmare. She noticed the TV on and rounded the sofa, smiling at the sight of the two men sleeping on the couch. She moved silently to Danny's side, sitting next to him and cuddling closer to his side. As Danny unconsciously tightened his hold, Grace closed her eyes went back to sleep, knowing she was safe because her Danno and Uncle Steve were there.

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The End

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear what you think of this little coda.


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